Last month, we hosted our third High-level Dialogue on ‘Education and FoRB: nurturing future generations for inclusive societies’. As part of bringing forward learnings from these Dialogues, this article summarizes the different themes and issues explored by participants during the webinar together with recommendations and a way forward.

With the aim of exploring how we can achieve inclusive and equitable quality education for all, regardless of religion or belief, the High-level Dialogue on 11 November saw a variety of parliamentarians, faith leaders and civil society actors come together to engage, listen and learn in order to ‘leave no one behind’,

The Dialogue was the third in a series of High-level Dialogues on FoRB and SDGs being hosted between September 2021 and February 2022 to address the connections between freedom of religion or belief and the following SDGs – gender, education, rule of law/freedom of expression, health and climate change.

The series is being organized by Freedom of Religion or Belief Leadership Network (FoRBLN), IPPFoRB, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Religions for Peace, African Parliamentarians Association for Human Rights and the UN’s Faith for Rights Initiative.

The consultation provided opening remarks by Katharine Thane (Project officer FoRBLN/IPPFoRB project) and short presentations from:

· Dr Marie Juul Petersen (Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for Human Rights),

· David Fernandez Puyana (Ambassador, Permanent Observer of the United Nations University for Peace to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva and Permanent Delegate of UPEACE to the UNESCO headquarters)

· Yusra Mahdi (Project Coordinator, Coalition for Religious Equality & Inclusive Development at the Institute of Development Studies).

In their presentations, the speakers highlighted the interconnection between freedom of religion or belief and education and emphasized the importance of a safe and inclusive learning environment in order to achieve FoRB for all. This proved helpful when participants went into regional/national breakout groups where they got the opportunity to speak about their personal experiences. Such spaces of engagement helps create a low threshold for diverse perspectives and meaningful reflections around how education can differ based on various countries and communities, and how this affects access to freedom of religion or belief.

‘Being left behind’ – a discussion on Freedom of religion or belief and Education

“The curriculum is heavily focused on one particular faith or interpretation of that faith, excluding religious minorities.”
– Participant from Europe

While discussing how freedom of religion or belief and education interconnects in society, a common theme highlighted was that: the principle of FoRB is not protected because it is not fully represented in the classrooms. For instance, the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees the right to freedom of religion in Article 19 and a right to education in Article 25A. But in reality, the situation remains serious. There is a disconnect between the rights provided by the Constitution and those enjoyed by religious minorities in educational spaces. This is so controversial that opinions expressed are all over the spectrum – some work for strengthening these human rights together, while others deny the societal challenges that exist. In the context of education, this is made clear through lack of religious diversity and discriminatory statements experienced by religious minorities.

Some participants from the Africa group also mentioned there being a wider gender dimension to access to education where young girls and women, unlike their male counter-parts, are either not given opportunities to join or remain in classrooms (sometimes families/guardians, especially when poverty is an issue, create barriers) or the educational environments are not conducive, for example rules about dress code, which may or may not give space for faith-based clothing and symbols.

“The education was very good (secular), but that is all changing. The curriculum is changing the narrative. The politicians are pushing for this change.”
– Participant from India

Another important issue that was discussed during the Dialogue was how, in some countries, certain parts of history are being rewritten to inspire political narratives or ideas of nationalism where minorities are excluded or viewed as the ‘outsider’. When religion is used as a tool to advance such motivations, it becomes no longer possible to create broad and inclusive learning environments within classrooms, leading to further discrimination and marginalization of minorities. In addition, certain countries’ curriculums acknowledge only one religion, or interpretation of that faith, which excludes religious minorities and brings further marginalization and stigmatization.

Making changes – opportunities and recommendations

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“Education and FoRB should be our starting point.”
– Participant from Pakistan

For the second part of the discussion, participants were invited to discuss opportunities for change and challenges that they might face within their respective countries. As part of this, participants engaged in interesting discussions on methods and approaches to advance human rights for all, namely micro-to-macro approach or working bottom to top, and the other way around.

Most of the participants shared the view that change needed to start at the micro-level through schools and education. By learning about multiple religious perspectives and being encouraged to challenge and question different forms of societal intolerance, children and youth can influence societies of the future. That being said, there is an important challenge to such an approach. As a participant from Bangladesh pointed out, any changes to the curriculum needs approval from a political elite, who is part of the problem. It was argued that those at ‘the top’, who are motivated by their political interests are not the changemakers, They are the elephant in the room, and we need to acknowledge this problem because without it the micro to macro approach will remain unsuccessful.

“Education can be play an important role in tackling hate speech. Members of Parliament are key, but also religious leaders and faith actors”
- Participant from Europe

Another important suggestion focused on promoting collaboration between different religious leaders, to avoid demonizing and belittling different communities. This aspect might not be directly connected to education, however, it is important to note that a general change in the curriculum can contribute to building a better foundation for interreligious dialogue.

Learning through experience: Reflections from the third High-level Dialogue on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Education

‘Being left behind’ – a discussion on Freedom of religion or belief and Education

Making changes – opportunities and recommendations

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